World’s Rarest Blood Group ‘CRIB’ Discovered in Karnataka Woman, Shocks Medical Community

A new and rare blood group named ‘CRIB’ has been discovered in a woman from Kolar, Karnataka. Identified by the Rotary Bangalore TTK Blood Centre and confirmed by a UK lab, it's part of the Cromer blood group system after 10 months of research.

Bengaluru: A previously unidentified blood group has been discovered in a woman from Kolar, Karnataka, and has been officially named ‘CRIB’.

Discovery by Rotary Bangalore TTK Blood Center

The rare blood group was identified through the efforts of the Rotary Bangalore TTK Blood Centre. The discovery was later confirmed by the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory (IBGRL) in Bristol, UK. After nearly 10 months of extensive research, scientists concluded that the new antigen belongs to the Cromer (CR) blood group system.

Patient from Kolar Sparks Medical Breakthrough 

The breakthrough began in February last year, when a 38-year-old woman from Kolar was admitted to R.L. Jalappa Hospital and Research Centre for heart surgery. Although her blood type was initially recorded as ‘O Rh+’, doctors discovered that her blood did not match any of the available O+ units at the hospital.

Her blood sample was sent to the Advanced Immunohematology Reference Laboratory at the Rotary Bangalore TTK Blood Centre for further analysis. According to the centre’s Managing Director, Ankit Mathur, the sample was found to be “panreactive”, meaning it was incompatible with all tested samples.

Surgery Completed Without Blood Transfusion 

Due to the incompatibility, doctors proceeded with the surgery without a blood transfusion. After tracing the origin of the unique antigen, the new blood group was named CRIB, marking a major milestone in global immunohematology.